2011 was a year full of awards for the Weyermann® Specialty Malting Company of Bamberg, Germany. The year started out with Weyermann® being awarded the “Grand Prize for Small Business,” a coveted German industry award given annually to companies that excel in such areas as innovation, providing top-quality customer service, supporting their local economy, and creating stable local employment. The small business prize was followed by the “Golden Beer Idea” award, bestowed annually by the Bavarian Brewers Federation upon companies in the brewing industry that have made exceptionally innovative contributions to the advancement of the quality and cultural value of Bavarian beer. The year was capped off by three successful days at the BrauBeviale trade show in Nuremberg, where the Weyermann® booth was once again one of the key magnets in the raw materials hall. The day after the BrauBeviale, it was Weyermann®’s turn to roll out the red carpet for its many friends around the globe. Some 500 visitors from more than 35 countries answered the invitation to the traditional Bavarian Party on the company grounds at Brennerstrasse in Bamberg … and the weather happily cooperated, which allowed visitors to mingle freely indoors and out, to partake in libations both liquid and solid, and to enjoy the program items of the festivities.
Among the many highlights of the party program was a bake at the Weyermann® wood-fired, open-air brick oven. Among the specialties prepared where genuine Italian pizzas as well as fresh breads made from various custom mixes containing both all-natural flours and Weyermann® malts. Also a big hit were visits to the ever-popular Weyermann® Pilot Brewery on the Brennerstrasse grounds and to the Weyermann® Distillery a few blocks away. The trip to the distillery included a single-malt whiskey-making demonstration and opportunities to sample Weyermann®’s single-malt whiskey as well as an eau-de-vie selection from different fruits. To get to the distillery and back, Weyermann® had reserved an old-fashioned horse-drawn carriage.
Back at Brennerstrasse, big hits, too, were tours conducted in German, English, and Russian of the malting plant and the logistics centre with its super-modern bagging and palletizing equipment. Those wanting to take some weight off their feet, could watch movies about Weyermann®’s operations and history in a small theatre, while the more gregarious visitors could watch demonstrations of traditional Bavarian “Schuhplattler” dancing from the Bavarian Woods — replete with rhythmic lederhosen-slapping and the banging of benches on the floor. An organ grinder as well as many performance artists, including a clown on stilts and a prestidigitator, made their rounds “accosting” people at random for a good laugh or two. Party souvenirs were available at the “Weyermann® Fan Shop.”
For the seriously hungry — that is, for the hearty eaters — there was an endless supply of Bamberg brats, the local sausage specialty, as well as copious amounts of creamy Bavarian cheese, and an entire ox on a spit … all to be washed down, naturally, with brews made with Weyermann® malts. There was the dry and dark Weyermann® Schlotfegerla® (“little chimney sweep”), which is a Weyermann® interpretation of the local Bamberger Rauchbier style, as well as such international beers as a floor-malted wheat wine, an oatmeal stout and a barrel-aged whiskey ale. The motto of this year’s Weyermann® Bavarian Party was “People First,” a symbol of the company’s philosophy of celebrating the diversity of the global beer culture by conducting business in a personalized manner, an approach that — if the mood and atmosphere among the guests was anything to go by — is obviously universally appreciated. And the good cheers will continue next year, because another Weyermann® Bavarian Party has already been firmly scheduled … once again for November, on the Saturday following the BrauBeviale 2012.
For further information: www.weyermannmalt.com
Weyermann® Malting Company
Founded in 1879. Today, it produces more than 80 varieties of malt and eight varieties of malt extract, as well as SINAMAR® and BIO-SINAMAR® All-Natural Liquid Color Malts. Weyermann® services almost 3,000 brewery customers and wholesalers in almost 120 countries. For further information about the Weyermann® Malting Company and its products contact sabine.weyermann@weyermann.de.